The True Faces of Horse Slaughter: Inside Alberta’s Horse Feedlots

In Canada’s vast Prairie provinces lie hundreds of feedlots, many of which hold thousands of horses destined for slaughter.

Whether they are cast-off PMU mares and foals, former Mennonite/Amish work horses, breeders’ excess stock, former rodeo horses or from horse dealers through rural auctions, many languish in Alberta feedlots in close proximity to Bouvry Exports, Canada’s largest horse slaughter plant.

This CHDC report exposes the common conditions inside these factory farm lots for horses.

Thank you for all you are doing to create awareness and change. Nothing can change if information is not shared in a way people will read it and get educated. Great blog, tears for the equine they deserve better.

i have lots of land and good hay for around 20 horse , fresh water, am not and i will say it again i am not a feed lot, i want to save the horse can someone help me to find out how i can get the horse out of feed lots thank you

[…] droughts many of the Pacific Northwest horses and burrows even healthy and young are ending up in Canada for Horse Slaughter. Perhaps the BLM should consider leaving the wild horses alone? What do you […]

Ray ANYONE who would support the BARBARIC killing of HORSES, must be a card carrying member of the AQHA in good standing, or a supporter of G Ritz who is no better than the BARBARIAN in Alberta, none other than C. Bouvry.

Ray, Horse slaughter continues for American horses; I am not sure why you are implying it’s stopped. Last year, over 140,000 US horses went to their death for the financial gain of offshore slaughter corporations.

The “abandoned horses” red herring is almost funny, except for the terrible suffering of these horses: The one big case that actually had horses (and not hype) documented: 5,000 horses @ the US-Mexico border. These unlucky horses were dumped (to starve or dehydrate to death) and their decaying remains in pubic watersheds near Presidio, TX last year. These horses were in fact abandoned by the horse slaughter industry itself.

Horse slaughter is tiny in comparison the larger economy & energy policies: US Federal subsidies for corn-ethanol alone account for a significant increase in the price of hay and grain for horses. Farmers shifted acreage to ethanol corn, and the price of horse feed skyrocketed.

The crash of the mortgage market, foreclosures, tight job market – these make it hard for people to afford horses. Instead of managing the breeding numbers to reduce suffering and keep prices afloat, the AQHA, racing industries and back yard breeders continue to churn out more foals than there are homes for with no responsible plan for what will happen to them.

Instead of whispering about the “unintended consequences” of a horse slaughter ban that does not exist, let’s talk about what horse slaughter is proven to correlate with: Greed, over breeding, abuse, toxic drugs in the food supply, environmental damage. Unpaid fines (Le Roy Baker, Kaufman TX plant) …

… The tragedy of horses stolen to slaughter, highway accidents taxpayers foot the bill for.. the suffering of that innocent grey foal on the video… it correlates with those.

On August 26 at 10pm on the CBC a documentary will show how BIG AGRI, the corporate world and the Govt. have supported each other in creating what is now termed ” ANIMAL FACTORIES”,and the HORRORS that come with it.
Why? To CONTROL and MANIPULATE, to support CORPORATE GREED.

You actions really do speak louder than words. Do not support events such as the stampede, horse racing, and rodeos in which horses are good for only a few years then thrown away like garbage. If there’s no money to be made then there will be no business for these people.

Jean In order to iniate any action, such as getting those many thousands of us to PROTEST and PICKET on an ONGOING, CONSISTENT basis is for someone to come forward who is an excellent organizer, capable of getting people out. This will also garner the ATTENTION of the MEDIA, god knows that is somethig we seriousl lack in this movement to halt this barbaric killing of HORSES in mass numbers by Alberta and Quebec.

Educating the public to the health concerns of horse consumption would certainly be a start in the right direction. The horrible practice of horse slaughter must end..it’s cost to the environment, taxpayers, consumers health issues and the brutal behavior to these magnficent animals is absolutely senseless! Action needs to be taken, if justice is to prevail for the voiceless.

BaileyThe INTENTIONAL LIES and DECEIT of Ritz,s C.F.I.A. and his supporters such as B. Evans,out weighs the real science of the risks of consuming HORSE meat. Surely, you must realize by now that LIES and DECEIT are the new science of the Conservative Govt. Simply put GREED, INDIFFERENCE AND $$$$$$$$$ at ANY COST is the new model of EMPORER Harper and his court jests.

Despite of the inhumane horse slaughter I’m more concern about the health of the people who consumed horse meat treated with drugs, deworming paste, steroid, etc. If no more demand, no more supply. We need to encourage public education about the negatives of consuming horse meat to end this.

It IS time for all of us to fight back, fight this horrible animal abuse & cruelty, we MUST put things in our own hands in order to get anything done, on behalf of all the suffering horses. Free the horses, fight fire with fire! Those people, actually, mindless, heartless, soul-less barbarians, do not care about animals or their welfare, they don’t treat them as feeling, living, thinking, sentient beings, created by the same Creator that made us. We are the horse warriors, & I firmly believe that each & every one of us was put here to intervene & protect these special creatures, against those that cause pain, fear, suffering & death. We really need to jump in with both feet & show them that we mean business!

Shame on Canada…to allow Alberta to continue this heinous crime against any animal. I don’t eat animals or any of the many products animal waste is used to make. On a conscious level I refuse to support/ kill any animal so I can “survive”. Not necessary! I know about the suffering of the beef/pork/chicken industry which is horrific enough but, horses? All of it makes me sick!
Mother Nature will win this war! She’s already winning many battles for them by making humans sick for consuming them. The government, including Health Canada will not help you…too much $$$ to be made. They don’t give a shit what you think. Period. Eventually we will all have to learn the hard way…
If we are what we eat then we are all savages who enslave,terrorize and murder.
No living being should have to live and die this way…Assholes!
I wonder if they have side dishes of cat and dog too to tantalize their barbaric tastes?

Mia It sure as hell is, without the support of Federal and Provincial Govts., and M.P. like Menzies, Ritz, Harper and Premiers like Redford and Charest, this barbaric monster named Bouvry would not be killing HORSES by the thousands in his house of horrors.
Do not let these comprimised politicans off the hook for what they assisted in creating.

As long as we have major breed registries like the AQHA (Quarter Horses) and the IAHA (Arabian Horses) offering incentives to breeders to produce horses and also being in favor of horse slaughter continuing, and as long as we have sectors of the horse industry (racing, reining, reined cow horses, cutting, pre-green hunters, etc) who offer high dollar prize money for 2 and 3 year old futurity classes so trainers start horses in rigorous training as long yearlings-early 2 year olds to get them ready to be competitive, and we also have sectors of society like the amish and the ranchers, and then also the drug companies using mare urine to produce drugs, then GREED will always win out, especially when these asswipes have a FREE, UNREGULATED disposal system in place for the horses instead of having to PAY anywhere from $200-$800 for HUMANE euthanization and disposal of the horses body.
Take away the FREE disposal system, and that is when we will see the numbers of excess horses reduce dramatically; when greedy people, businesses, and groups are smacked in the wallet to actually PAY for things instead of using a system in place that is FREE and UNREGULATED, and since money is their GOD that they worship, that is the ONLY way to stop what is happening.
We’re getting there, so its only a matter of time before these monsters will be out of business entirely…….we owe it to the horses, mules and burros to keep fighting because if we don’t do it, who will save them from horrendous deaths?

Mr. Mowka, i to have sent MANY letters to Canadian Federal M.P. ,as well as PREMIERS. Last week i sent a letter to Mr. Obama., the F.D.A. and the C.F.I.A.. Like you, and i am sure thousands of others who want this BARBARIC industry banned perhaps the movement needs to focus on VERY LARGE PROTEST NUMBERS at these houses of horrors. As well we need politicans opposed to this industry PRESENT AT THE PROTEST TO SPEAK. This draws the national media, and lord knows that is what this movement requires ONGOING NATIONAL EXPOSURE. We desperatley need an” ORGANIZER” to accomplish this.
I however am convinced that this will stop only when and if the U.S. BILL passes, or Mr. Obama steps forward to halt this BARBARIC industry. With the likes of a Govt. we have in Canada, with supporters of slaughter such as Federal M.P. Ted Menzies, Gerry Ritz, Stephen Harper ,and Premiers such as Allison Redford of Alberta and Jean Charest of Quebec it will be very diffucult for the Canadin bill C322 to pass, or for that matter even heard.

Gee! The comments here, I do understand and you are all right. Looking at this video brings out so many emotions, its pityful to watch!😦 As if we don,t have enough on our shoulders struggling through life each & everyday ourselves and yet these poor Horses are locked up & sent to HELL,s doors, for NO good reason. WHY! Their cries, their magical beauties, their eyes, the pain they go through, ect we can all see the plain terror they endure and no matter what, we should all stand up strong, be a voice for them and end this Horse Halocaust in Canada. YES, shame on Bouvry, ect. This is all just wrong! … What have we become? Support BILL C-322 and lets continue the battles till peace sets in. tks

I live in the US and the past few months there have been a number of horse slaughter wacko’s that have tried to or thought they could try to open up slaughter plants in a few states. But each time they failed. What you are looking at in these photos is what the pro-slaughter wacko’s would love to be doing, raising horses for slaughter in the US. There is plenty of palm greasing among your politicians just like there is here. That’s why we have never managed to get any bill that was introduced in congress to stop US horses from being shipped to Canada/Mexico to be killed passed.
The way I understand it in 2013 the EU will demand passports on all horses that will be killed for human consumption before the meat can be shipped to the EU countries that eat it. I wonder how Bouvry is going to get around that seeing as there are thousands of horses with very little known about their background?

Thank you Shelly and Lonita for this supurb piece of reporting. This is a story that needed to be told. All to often we are so focused on the auctions, kill buyers and slaughterhouses themselves we forget how long, ardous and inhumane the death trek for our horses really is. Hopefully citizens of the U.S. will see this and it will finally register how long and horrible a death trek our horses are sentenced to when they are sent to auction. Another great piece of real advocacy by CHDC!

I feel so helpless. I sign petitions and grovel in letters to congressmen and members of the Canadian Parliament. Every day I remember and pray for those horses that are still in all these feedlots across Canada and the United States. I pray for the poor souls that have already undergone slaughter. I pray that Claude Bouvry drops dead. I don’t think it would even matter. I am sure he has progeny to continue his legacy of cruelty. I am beginning to think that if nothing is done soon and no laws are past then maybe we need to take matters into our own hands and somehow free those horses and put an end to the machinations of those houses of horror. I don’t want to fell helpless anymore. I think I am ready to fight. Maybe that time has come.

As a so called civilized society, we should be OUTRAGED at these conditions, and C. Bouvry, Canadas equilevant to animal welfare in China. His colleagues M.P. Ted Menzies, Gerry Ritz , J Charest and of course Premier Allison Redford of Alberta are truly the worst of society, as they stand by knowing these conditions exist, and instead of addressing them, its easier i guess for them to deny they exist. Perhaps it is part of their PROUD VISION for Canadas JOBS, GROWTH AND PROSPERITY plans.
Canada, it is not good enough to sit by and say this is terrible treatment of animals, we must write , call, email and DEMAND, NOT ASK those politicans who turn a blind eye to this CRUEL and BARBARIC Industry that is driven soley be GREED AND CORPORATE PROFIT AT ANY COST TO BRING IT TO AN END NOW, NOT LATER.
As for the Alberta and Quebec SPCA, you are an embarasment to the” VERY SOCIETY” AS A WHOLE.

What aterrible exsistence for these noble animals.Why does this go on?Greed,graft,and corruption are three good reasons.I always thought that Canada and the US had better moral fibre than this.It’s an outrage and must be stopped.Brought tears to my eyes.

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